As we enter the warmer months of the year, many parts of the world are preparing for a plethora of festivals, celebrating community and culture with food, games and entertainment. Perhaps the right thing is something new Pokemon card trading game set uses this setting as focus. Scarlet & Violet: Twilight Masquerade is about masks, parties and team spirit. Like bright colors? Or maybe just a fan of downloadable content as a concept? This set might have something for you.
The focus of this set – which you may have already guessed – is Ogerpon, the masked Pokemon that serves as the center of the story in Teal mask. All four mask variations are here, as well as the basic and legacy forms. The large version can even swap masks into other forms, though we’ll have to see if that’s worthy as a base for deckbuilding.
On the other hand, its enemies? Yes, we can see them making an impact. Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti are all basic characters with high HP, having a bonus with abilities that power them up if you attach dark energy. If energy types fit into a strong strategy, they will certainly appear as utility or auxiliary combatants. In particular, the Munkidori formation on the bench, each turn moving three damage counters to the other side of the board? Sorry. You better be ready for a one-hit KO.
The Future and Ancient subgroups, introduced in Paradoxical rift, received a few more reinforcements. Iron Cards can help Future decks reclaim fallen warriors from the trash pile. Iron Bundle lets you hit and run, swapping your opponent’s actions as you go. But the real attraction here is the old Iron Thorns, with their ability to negate the abilities of non-Future heavy hitters.
On the Ancient side, Walking Wake’s double-edged attack won’t make much of a ripple in competitive play, and Scream Tail ex’s ability to delay opponents is extremely narrow. Brute Bonnet is probably the most viable type, with guaranteed poison and an attack that deals extra damage to wounds.
Regarding gameplay, Sunset masquerade is more of a complementary release than a showcase of new ideas. Now there are more ACE SPEC options! New and reprinted Trainers fill in the gaps in the ability space of recent sets! We found the number of side pieces to add to an existing deck was much higher than the number of center pieces worth building around. Of course, we’re sure that one of these cards will break out in a way we don’t foresee. But nothing about this expansion is meant to stand alone, and that makes sense, because it doesn’t.
While this is nothing new, this series in particular got us thinking about the timing of The Pokemon Company’s TCG debut. It’s really impressive how quickly it changed from the release of the card in Japan to the international card — it varied, but this time it was about a month — and that’s good for consistency across the region’s metagames .
But what about being suitable for video games? This set is built around Teal mask, an add-on that launched last September, and we really have to wonder if this regional focus will be a little more effective while eager players are still hard at work. This little adventure. This may have resonated especially strongly with us this time, given the setting itself is built around a festival.
Still, there’s a lot to like about the aesthetic of this set, regardless of the time period. The appearance of all packaging is built on Ogerpon’s signature teal color, which is very striking. New Pokemon like Sinistcha and Dipplin reinforce the culinary and fun theme. And hey, Thwackey is here to keep the beat! Basically, it’s a fun and feel-good movie that’s perfect for the warmer months of the year.
Latest Pokemon card trading game expansion, Scarlet & Violet: Twilight Masquerade, debut May 24, 2024. For more information about TCG, see Pokemon TCG archive.
